Tag: Cincinnati Reds

MLB Power Rankings: Mariners, Giants ride the wave, Mets can’t quite hang on

mohmad free

By Zach Buchanan, Nick Groke and Stephen Nesbitt At this time each year, we cross an imaginary line in the baseball calendar whereupon fans and front-office folks finally agree: we now know some things to be true. The takeaways about each team may differ, but the consensus is that at this point in the season, we’ve seen a large enough sample of games to start trusting statistical trends. Bad starts. Breakouts. Contenders. Pretenders. It’s real now. Grant Brisbee recently took stock of the San Francisco Giants by analyzing statistical categories…

Read More

Elly De La Cruz is coming soon – and that could leave Jonathan India without a spot

mohmad free

The Reds have a problem with Jonathan India. It’s a good problem, but a problem nonetheless. The Reds may soon boast many fine players, most notably the game’s MVP, Eli de la Cruz, who is nearing his major league debut. India, 26, was the 2021 NL Freshman of the Year. He’s currently the team’s three-hole hitter, putting together a season that looks more like his award-winning freshman year than his injury-plagued sophomore season. Moreover, Reds players and officials consider him the heart and soul of the team. But in a…

Read More

Hunter Green of the Reds throws 6 runs with an unpitched ball against the Cubs

mohmad free

The Reds’ Hunter Green threw six innings off a ball against the Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field, before walking away with his team leading 7-0. After two innings, the Cubs’ starter Christopher Morrell finished the Reds with a no-hitter Yours faithfully, Eduardo Salazar. Here’s what you need to know: During a start against the Pirates in his rookie season, Greene went 7 1/3 innings without allowing a hit before being pulled as a reliever. Cincinnati lost that game 1-0, becoming the first team since 2008 to allow no hits…

Read More

Joey Photo takes on BP in Cincinnati, but there’s still no major league on the horizon

mohmad free

CINCINNATI — Joey Votto, who hasn’t played in a major league game since August, continued his live hitting practice Monday, this time at Great American Ball Park instead of the Reds’ Triple-A stadium in Louisville where he’s been hitting for over a week. Votto, who chose his words and narratives with equal care, spoke after he got BP live on Monday and before taking home balls at center. He didn’t provide any details on a return timeline or any plans other than continuing to take direct BP at GABP this…

Read More

The Reds learn a painful lesson: If you step up to Aaron Judge, you lose

mohmad free

CINCINNATI — American League MVP Aaron Judge and one not out to that point in the game got to the plate in the tenth inning at Great American Ball Park with the go-ahead run 90 feet out. The Reds coach had a choice: Pitch to Judge, who would likely hit the ball deep enough on a checkered swing for a sacrifice fly, or walk him on purpose. With right-hander Ian Gibbot on the mound, there was no hesitation, Bell decided to turn to the judge. It turned out to be…

Read More

C. Notes: Call-ups a high in Louisville manager Pat Kelly’s long baseball trip

mohmad free

LOUISVILLE — A couple of years ago, Louisville manager Pat Kelly and his wife were in Korea visiting his son, Casey, who has pitched there since 2019. They were walking down the street in Seoul when he heard someone yelling his name. Kelly turned around and saw Ben Lively, who was pitching for the Samsung Lions at the time. “He says, ‘There’s no way I’m in Seoul, Korea, and I see P.K. walking down the road,’” Kelly recalled. “He can’t get away from me.” Kelly was Lively’s first manager in…

Read More

The Reds rely on being aggressive on base to score their runs

mohmad free

CINCINNATI – As the Reds roster begins to form this season and spring, a common question has been: Where will the racing come from? The nine starters on the Reds’ lineup on Thursday hit 188 career home runs — or two fewer than Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (and only 29 more than first baseman Pete Alonso, who debuted in 2019). In the early years of Great American Ball Park, the Reds were built around strength. The team could mash, but not do much else. Over the years, the Reds have…

Read More

MLB All-30: Each team’s biggest surprise (pleasant or not-so-great) so far

mohmad free

It would probably take you about five seconds to name the biggest surprises from this season’s first month, and all it would take is a look at the National League Central standings. Even the Pirates themselves have to be shocked by how this season has progressed (especially after losing Oneil Cruz for several months), and good luck trying to remember the last time the Cardinals — perhaps the steadiest franchise of the century thus far — looked this bad and this disjointed. We’re going to go a little deeper than…

Read More

Graham Ashcraft digs for 6 innings as the Reds huddle around the pitcher in mourning

mohmad free

CINCINNATI — Reds coach David Bell didn’t even remember if he said anything to starter Graham Ashcraft when he reached the dugout after the fifth inning. If Bill did, he wouldn’t need to. Ashcraft’s grandmother, Teresa Ann Ashcraft, passed away Monday. A converted Rangers fan, she watched every Reds game, even when her grandson wasn’t playing, keeping score, and keeping track of all the players on the team. She loved baseball as much as she loved her grandson. In his first start since her death, Ashcraft gave up the first…

Read More

Could Hunter Greene’s contract extension be the first of its kind for the Reds’ young core?

mohmad free

CINCINNATI – The Reds jailed Hunter Green for the next six years on Tuesday. Could it just be the first attempt by the organization to lock up its young players? Green, 23, is now the only Reds player under contract for the 2024 season. Several other players are under the team’s control for next season and the team has an option with Joey Votto for another season, but only Green is guaranteed money from the Reds. After a 100-loss season in 2022, and a disastrous 7-10 start to the season,…

Read More